Gateley Plc appoints legal director to launch residential development offering in Manchester

We have continued to expand our real estate offering making its first appointment to the Residential Development team in Manchester – legal director Louise Ilhan.

Louise has more than 18 years’ experience in property law and was previously company solicitor at property developer Merepark Homes in Altrincham for eight years, where she was involved in the full development cycle of mixed-use and residential property. Prior to this she worked in the Real Estate team at Manchester firm Cobbetts LLP, for over ten years.

Rod Waldie, head of Gateley Plc’s property group and head of the Manchester office, said: “Our residential development team has grown at an impressive rate over the past few years and I’m delighted to be welcoming Louise to the department, enabling us to offer this service from Manchester, as well as Birmingham, London, Leeds and Nottingham – the widest range of offices from which a residential development team operates for any UK firm.

“We’re trusted to work as an in-house team for the majority of our clients, so the client-side experience that she brings with her is invaluable.”

Louise added: “Gateley Plc has an excellent reputation for the breadth and depth of work that they do in this sector, with an extensive and experienced national team. I’m very much looking forward to building a team here in Manchester to complement the already highly-regarded department.”

The Residential Development team at Gateley Plc acts for all of the top 10 national housebuilders, and 18 of the top 20, in all regions of the UK. The national plot sales team itself is responsible for selling around 5% of all new home plots in the UK and the department acts on approximately 10-15% of the land acquisition market in England at any one time. It is currently acting on three of the Government’s 14 Garden Villages.